FULL TEXT OF DAMASCUS-BEIRUT DECLARATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DAMASCUS 002319 SIPDIS SIPDIS PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SY LE SUBJECT: FULL TEXT OF DAMASCUS-BEIRUT DECLARATION REF: DAMASCUS 02263 ¶1. (U) FULL TEXT OF DAMASCUS-BEIRUT DECLARATION: ¶2. (U) BEGIN TEXT: ¶3. (U) The Lebanese-Syrian relations are witnessing quick deterioration that could cause a deep fracture between the two neighboring countries and the two sisterly peoples. This deterioration has grown since the extension for the Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, in violation of the spirit of the Lebanese constitution and in indifference to the opinion of the majority of the Lebanese. Then this situation escalated seriously, with the political assassinations that ended the lives of political, party, media personalities and citizens that included in the forefront the assassination of Premier Rafik al-Hariri. ¶4. (U) Feeling extreme concern over this serious deterioration, some opinion-makers in both Syria and Lebanon called for convening a series of discussions and dialogues during February and March during which they agreed on the need to work, verbally and in action, for a fundamental correction of the Syrian-Lebanese relations in a way that fulfills the common interests and aspirations of the two people in sovereignty, freedom, dignity, justice and progress. ¶5. (U) We are not oblivious to the fact that the relations between Syria and Lebanon are burdened with a number of problems whose repercussions have accumulated through decades since the establishment of the two political entities in the 1920s. The Syrian regime's intervention in the Lebanese wars 1975-1990 and the hegemony exercised over Lebanon after the war, and the regime's security controls of Lebanon,s political and economic decision came to further increase and complicate these problems. We think that these bitter experiences need to be contemplated, discussed and have a joint critical review on all levels, and we declare here, our complete willingness to contribute in the undertaking of this task. ¶6. (U) However we would like, within this declaration, to recall the shared history of our peoples in common struggles and sacrifices, remembering the martyrs of Marjeh Square in Damascus and Al-Burg Square in Beirut during the years 1915 and 1916, and the national and popular uprisings against the French mandate when Lebanese cities were closed and filled with demonstrations, its youth receiving bullets in their ;chests in solidarity with the uprisings in Syrian cities and vice-versa. We have examined the important responsibility exercised by the ruling classes in the two countries towards pushing economic boycott in 1950 and the burial of the joint dream of the pioneers of independence in establishing two independent states that would have the closest economic, social, political and cultural relations between them. However the tyranny of these narrow interests did not prevent the two peoples from renewing their joint struggle for the sake of the Palestinian cause and against international and regional military alliances until their solidarity, during the last decades, in confronting the Israeli aggression against them and its occupation of parts of their territories when confrontation in Lebanon resulted in liberating the occupied south. ¶7. (U) Based upon this, at a time when pressurizing factors are increasing so as to drive a wedge between the Syrians and the Lebanese, we announce our determination on dialogue, solidarity and joint action for fundamental correction of the relations between the two countries and peoples in accordance with a joint future national vision. Here are some of its components: -- Respecting and enhancing the sovereignty and independence of both Syria and Lebanon within the framework of institutionalized and transparent relations that serve the interests of the two peoples and enhance their joint confrontation with Israeli aggression and American attempts at hegemony. We call in this field to establish these relations on a basis that rejects subordination and inferiority on one side and the superiority, seclusion and boycott on the other side. In this regard the Syrian participants call for the final Syrian recognition of Lebanon's independence and to depart from any reservation or equivocation in this regard. The Syrian and Lebanese participants declare jointly their firm insistence that neither Lebanon nor Syria should be a quarter or a corridor for conspiracy against its neighbor or any other Arab country. We jointly see that the first steps that DAMASCUS 00002319 002 OF 003 need to be taken in this direction are represented by final demarcation of the borders and diplomatic exchange between the two countries. -- We declare our adherence to Syria's right to retrieve all of its occupied territories in the Golan and Lebanon's retrieving its occupied lands in the Shabaa Farms and the hills of Kafar Shouba by all means possible (taking into account the official Syrian declaration that the latter territories are Lebanese) under the umbrella of international legitimacy, and we stress our adherence to the right of the Palestinian people in establishing its independent state with Jerusalem as its capital and in a way that would guarantee to the Palestinians the right of return to their homeland in compliance with charters and implementation of international resolutions. -- We stress that the differences in the political, economic and social systems in our two countries could be a rich, varied and complementary source that would not impede cooperation, coordination and integration between them. But this requires conducting a correction of these systems on the basis of a comprehensive critical review of the past experiences in both countries. We declare in this regard our deep conviction that both countries are capable of creating a vision for coordination and integration between them that would combine the energies, capabilities and preferential traits that they both enjoy, especially in facing the multiple challenges imposed by globalization and the wide horizons it entails. -- We demand the respect and cultivation of public and private liberties, human rights, building of the state of the law, institutions, free and honest elections, circulation of power and unity of the state and maintaining its sovereignty over all of its soil. We stress the exceptional role played by the forces of democratic change in protecting independence and enhancing the capabilities of our two people in their national and regional battles. Furthermore, we insist that dominance of democratic regimes in the two countries constitute the best guarantee for the establishment and dedication of equal and sound relations between them. However, we adhere at the same time, to the right of the two peoples to choose with complete freedom, the economic, social and political system that fulfills their aspirations without any coercion. -- We call for establishing economic relations between the two countries on the basis of transparency, openly and complementarily in a manner that serves the popular interests and not the greed of a few who control the economy and the authority. This requires first and foremost liberalizing the economies of both countries from the organized plundering of the wealth and resources of both countries that has been, and is still being exercised by joint mafias that are benefiting from the positions of protection and utilization of authority in both countries. -- We denounce political assassination as a criminal method to deal with the opposition and to resolve political disputes, and we stress the need to facilitate the task of the UN International Investigation Committee to expose the instigators, organizers and the executers of the assassination of Premier Rafik al-Hariri and his colleagues and the other crimes, and to hold these actors liable for the criminal and political responsibility for their crimes and hand them the punishment they deserQ in accordance with international law and the public opinion. We absolutely reject any attempt to impose economic sanctions or otherwise on the Syrian people. -- We denounce the forms of discrimination and violence practiced against Syrian workers in Lebanon. We ask the Lebanese authorities to track down the perpetrators of the crimes of assault on these workers to expose them, arrest them and put them on trial to receive the punishment they deserve. -- We are not oblivious to the problems caused by the presence of exchanged employment between the two countries especially the Syrian laborers in Lebanon and the repercussions on the labor sectors especially in the fields of wages and social security, which dictates the need to establish laws that organize the flow of labor and its use in both countries to guarantee the interests and rights of workers. -- We ask the Syrian authorities to take immediate action by releasing all Lebanese prisoners and internees in Syrian DAMASCUS 00002319 003 OF 003 prisons and detention centers and call for for the final revelation of the fates of those missing. -- Joint action to correct relations between the two countries and achieving equilibrium on the level of equality, trust and mutual respect requires a review of all the agreements and treaties signed between the authorities of both countries, to conclude an era and to start a new one that is based on equality, cooperation and common interests. ¶8. (U) This declaration gains its legitimacy and strength from its own signatories. ¶9. (U) Beirut April 6, 2006 SECHE